Pray First

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition and with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Prayer –  Heavenly Father, this is your word. It is packed with your power, and we are your people. Get it to a place where it makes change, where it transforms lives. Amen. 

Some of the things I'm going to say are going to be difficult, challenging, or maybe new, but most of it is going to be a good reminder for us.We live in a spiritual and a physical world simultaneously. You are both spirit and body. God has created you with the Ru'a that he breathed into Adam, and you became a living being, just like God is a living being and angels are living beings, you became a living being. But you started out in the context of a GPS, a physical, geographical address, Adam. God formed Adam out of the dust of the earth, and when he had completed the man, the vehicle, the face, the identity, then he breathed life into him. So now he was both a spiritual being, but he was also in a body. The body was meant to be eternal, so it is not a trap. It is not a mistake. When God put a being into a body, it was not a trap. Now sin has destroyed that body and it is one day going to fall to the earth, and 1 Corinthians 15 says, you're going to be raised incorruptible, which means you're going to be given a body just like your current identity, but in perfection. A body that's prepared for the presence of God, a body that can live forever and ever. So exactly who you are is what you'll always be, with all the imperfections and the shortcomings removed. So you are primarily a spiritual being. Your identity is a spiritual being. You were made in the image of God. That's the part that relates to God, knows God and engages with God. Then you have a body which engages with people, and you know people and that you know your wife or your husband, and then you have children, and that is the human experience that which the body provides. Jesus comes and he takes on a body so that he is able to identify with us. You are both spiritual and you are physical. Have I made my point? 

So in the physical realm and through our physical realm, there is much we cannot see. There is a whole lot more to realities, different realities that we cannot see. We are a three-dimension people. We've been given two eyes to see in three dimensions, and when we take a picture, it reduces to two dimensions. We are not even able to multiply that. We are severely reduced by our existence and by plan and by purpose. So there is much we cannot see, and there are forces that are at work behind the scenes. Not every force is against you. Not every force is demonic. Not every force is bad. But there are forces, there are beings, there is a whole world of beings. We are not alone. There is a whole world of beings that is beyond us. And we, you and me, we wrestle on a daily basis with inadequacy.

I don't think I have enough. I can't understand enough. We wrestle with fears. What if this happens? What if that happens? Or what about that? Fears that were born when we were three years old, fears that were born when we were seven years old, fears of dogs that will bite you, fears of people… We've got those triggers and those memories of fears that are attached to our growing up.Then you've got defensive resentment because you've grown up not knowing whether you're liked or not. So in defence of that, you resent people. You resent as a defence. We wrestle with guarded reactions. I shouldn't get too excited about this. Shouldn't show too much attention. Shouldn't show too much happiness. I guard it because I'm not sure how much I need to let out. Offensive defences. The best form of defence is attack. So we attack before anybody else attacks so that we come across as aggressive, therefore equals confidence where you are.

We wrestle with anxiety. I don't even have to begin to explain to you how we all struggle with anxiety. We wrestle with insecurity. I don't know if I'm good enough. I don't know if I have enough. I don't know if I belong here. All sorts of guilt, all sorts of insecurities. We wrestle with being lost for words. I don't know what to say.What will I say? I don't know how to respond. What will I respond? Suddenly you talk to me. Suddenly you ask. I don't know what to say. What if I say the wrong thing? We wrestle with competition. In every step of the way in a country of 1.4 billion people, there is constant competition. There's a long line outside your office waiting to take your job. So you are at constant loggerheads holding on to the last bit of work you have. 

We wrestle with too many words. Either those are talking to us or we're not able to compute.We're not able to gather. We're not able to analyze. We wrestle with office politics. There are powers at work within our office which we can see that we can't control.Then there are authority issues. People who have authority, people who don't have authority. People who misuse or abuse their authority. Anything to do with authority that is in an unhealthy state, we struggle and we wrestle with that. I'm trying to go to every aspect of our life.

What about recent fallouts? You call up a person or you walk into a party or you walk into a situation or you're in the mall and somebody comes whom you recently had a fight or an argument with. Now suddenly you're in an awkward situation. Suddenly you're not feeling too good. It ruins your mood. Recent fallouts or recent memories that come up in response to what I'm trying to do here. It bugs you or it ruins your confidence or it catches you off guard. Just recent fallouts, recent memories, recent conflicts. It kind of messes you up. You were going clear for a while, but now that thing is bothering you. What about hopelessness? Nothing is going to change. This country is never going to change.These people are never going to change. The economy is never going to change. Nothing in my office is going to change. My wife is never going to change. My husband… hopelessness, et cetera.

With so much going on all the time, body, soul, and spirit.With so much at the next step. We get up in the morning, God knows what today is going to bring. We in 2026 ought to commit ourselves to a gut first reaction called Pray First. It should be our gut. Not anxiety or worry….but pray first. You can do that. You know how to worry first. You know how to fear first. You know how to get anxious. You know how to spring up thoughts of defence. You know all that. That's pretty good. In the same way, you could also develop a pray first mindset. So let’s talk about that.

Pray first. Before you open a door, say a quick word of prayer. Before you begin a conversation, it becomes so natural, so second nature to you that you just breathe it out, ‘Lord I'm going into a conversation with this person, I don't know what this phone call is about, I don't know what this is saying, I'm walking into that door, Lord just give me the words’. Just bring God so that the spirit and the flesh begin to align. Because you recognize you're not just a physical being you are a spiritual being, and your life is both parallel. Things are happening both in the spirit and in the physical realm together, and for you to be aligned in both, then you've got God the Spirit who's the ultimate authority in the whole spirit realm and controls everything and speaks authority and every demon from hell trembles at his voice, so you've got the spirit realm also victorious, you've got the physical realm with God giving you victory, but you pull those two together and you align yourself so your prayers bring the two together. As soon as you pray first, you bring the two together and you connect them. Pray first before you open a door, before you begin a conversation, before you walk into an interview, Lord, they don't decide my fate, you decide my fate. They don't script my life. My life is not the outcome of chances and probabilities and competition. You script my life and when you want something from me, you make it happen.This interview is process. This interview is just the way the work happens. So you give favor. You learn those quick prayers, conversational prayers. You learn to pray first before you fill an application. Pray first. Never leave a fight before praying. Fight by all means. It's probably the deepest engagement most of us ever have. But never leave a fight without praying first. Before you get on a plane, pray. Not for safety.That you'll pray anyway. All your relatives are praying for that. Pray that you'll make a difference to the person sitting next to you. Pray that you'll get sweet sleep. Pray that God will protect you from all the triggers of travel. Pray first before you make a decision, before you break a heart, before you quit a habit. 

See that pray first is not a long prayer. It's an engagement with the spirit and the physical realm. It’s a constant connect with God. And it's not your brain and attention and feelings that are connected to God. It is your spirit that's connected to God. So when your spirit is constantly doing that, God who is life gives life to your spirit. Your spirit that now has life, gives life to your flesh. 

So you are a spirit living in a body. You have your spiritual influence and you have your physical influence. In the physical influence, you have your intellect, your smartness, how sharp you are, you have motor skills, you have strength, you have endurance, stamina. So in your  physical realm some of you are influenced, some of you are more influential than others. In the spiritual realm you have your influences. You are also a child of God. So you are a spirit living in a body. So you are a man. You have people, you have strength, you have money, you have intellect. But you are also a child of God and you have kingdom agendas, you have spiritual agendas, you have spiritual strength, you have spiritual resources to pour over into your physical realm. You have purposes that pour over that must be applied to your physical realm. So you need to pray first because you are a spirit living in a body. You need to pray first because you are a child of God. I am talking about the quick prayers, the immediate prayers, the constant prayers that keep plugging into the spirit realm and say, ‘Lord, are you here? I need strength’.

1 Thessalonians 5:17–Pray continually

Pray unceasingly. So what does that mean? It doesn't mean it's a conversation. It doesn't mean it's a stop and pray a particular prayer. It doesn't mean, “Father God, we come before you…. in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen”. It's not that prayer. It's a prayer that is a constant breathing connection with the Spirit of God. A constant breathing connection between my spirit and God's Spirit. Pray continually means as you are constantly breathing to stay alive, you are constantly praying to stay alive. This is something you begin in the flesh and it enters into the spirit realm. It's something that begins with saying, ‘Lord, I don't know how to do this’. It starts small and it develops. And my prayer for you and me in 2026 is that we would become a people who pray first. It becomes second nature to us to pray first. 

Pray without ceasing. You need wisdom. You need insight. You need protection. You need power. Pray first. You want to win on both planes, spiritual and physical. You recognize that we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers in the heavenlies. You recognize there are forces. This is not the demonic realm. This is principalities and powers. These are angels that have rebelled against God. So you got a whole host of kingdoms that Satan offered to Jesus. These kingdoms are not for you. They are against you. But then the kingdom of God is even higher than that, and you and prayer fuels the battle between the angels and principalities. You recognize we are not wrestling against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers in the heavenlies. So you're walking about in a five foot five body but you have more power in your hand than even angels do. Simply because you have access bypassing them to the holy God. To the throne room of God. 

If you're going to walk by faith and not by sight because you're living in the spirit and not just in the flesh, then you need to switch your reliance. Switch your cylinders. Switch your reliance from your own wisdom, intellect and strength and align yourself to God's will, God's strength and God's plans. What does that look like on an everyday basis? When you're filling a report. When you're filling an exam paper. When you're evaluating a colleague. When you're evaluating a child. When you're at work what does that look like to bring the spirit realm into your physical world? Align the two and then pray in step with the Spirit. God's wisdom. God's instruction. You align yourself by switching cylinders. You pray first. What is this alignment? 

Proverbs 3: 5-6: Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Why shouldn't I lean on my understanding? Lord, this is such a disempowering statement. I mean, you're telling me that I don't have enough? You're telling me that I don't have all the data by which I can analyze and make a wise decision, a wise step? Well, no, you don't. You don't have it. You don't have everything that it takes. So you switch your cylinders. You switch your reliance to God who does know everything. Moving ahead this verse says if you submit to him… he will make you paths straight. Some of you haven't even begun to taste and see that the Lord is good. You haven't seen him go to work. God works in our government. God works in our army. God works in our business. God works in our media. God works in every aspect. Not all of it is under his control, but everything is within his control. He's greater. He's more powerful and he only works for and to the benefit of his people who are in that given situation so that their lives will be victorious and abundant. As to the rest of the world, Jesus is coming He will sit on the throne and he will set all that right. 

Let me give you five reasons why you need to make Pray First your gut response in 2026.

Number one, pray first because it will take care of your anxiety. Philippians 4:6-7: Do not be anxious about anything... and there are three prayers.There is by prayer, there's petition and there's thanksgiving. Prayer is the breathing of connection with the spirit of God to align yourself, recognizing I am first spirit, I'm first a being, an eternal being, but I've been connected to this body. I've been given an address and an identity on this earth. I've been given a career, I've been given family, I've been given responsibilities, I've been given stewardship over influence, affluence and people, and God wants me to be a blessing. God wants me to live abundantly. God wants me to live a victorious life. So rather being anxious about anything, I pray. I stay connected. I breathe my prayers. I praise unceasingly. So that's the prayer.Then you have petitions. Petitions are applications to the throne of God for certain things you want for yourself or people around you. Petitions are saying Lord here's a list of needs we have. Our eyes are on you and then there's thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is declaring thanks before he has answered the prayer because you have so much faith that God is going to take care of your business. So you don't pray begging God, you pray thanking God. You don't pray begging God hoping that if he's in a good mood he will give it. We pray thanking God because he's always filled with joy and he is for me and he wants to make my path straight. He wants to go ahead of me. He doesn't want me to face anything that I am not meant to face as a son, as a child in the house, as a child of God. So God is for me and God is going ahead of me and God wants my life to be a script of his glory. Christ in you the hope of glory.

What God does is he doesn't answer but what he does give you is the peace of God which transcends all understanding. Okay, so you go back to Proverbs chapter three: Do not depend on your own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge it. So you take understanding, our perspective, our perceptions, everything we see, all the data we have available to our eyes, nose, ears, everything. We take all of that and we put it aside, and God's peace transcends all of that. All the understanding and his peace will guard both your hearts and your minds. Peace and guard? Isn’t peace what gives us that zen feeling? No. Peace is a weapon. Peace is a stronghold. Peace is a rampart. Peace is a castle that protects you. My heart- because that's where the doubts arise. That’s where the will is attacked. That's where the will is negotiated with when satan puts temptations with us. My mind- because that's where the hurt and the pain and the memories and the insecurities are. Our minds are broken. Our minds are darkened. So the peace of God will guard my mind and guard my heart, and I don't have to be worried about internal attack. 

So why do we pray first? Because we all have triggers. We have traumatic experiences. Times we've been through that have shaken our confidence, antagonizing experiences or situations. Some of you may feel everything is in fear, I walk into a situation, I get irritated. I get so irritated. I get upset. This bothers me. It gets me so upset that I'm not able to function properly and I'm not able to respond properly. Some of you, maybe you're not the fearful type , but maybe you're so strong for your own good. Maybe you're walking into a situation, everybody bugs you. Everything anybody does bugs you. And you're so sick and tired of things not being under control and the way you'd like it. 

So when we pray, it releases God's power, it releases God's boldness, courage, it releases God's peace. In the moment when you pray first and you walk in, boom! Resource provided. Walk into a situation, boom, resource provided. When you're constantly praying, you're constantly keeping the avenue of resources, the conduit of resources, open so that God is able to give you what you need. You  need power, He gives you power so you don't feel crippled. You need boldness, He'll give you boldness and courage so you don't feel intimidated and overpowered. If you feel flustered and disturbed, he'll give you peace so that in those situations you respond well. God will give you boldness so you are able to respond properly because if you're not scared, if you're not disturbed, if you're not shaken… You'll be able to respond properly. You know the right words to say. 

Number two, pray first, because you will see God move in your favor. 

Psalm 37:5: Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will act. Come with an attitude of – So, Lord, here's the plan. ‘Lord, I'm depending on you to make this plan happen. I'm depending on you to follow through with this plan. Now, I'm completely dependent on you, Lord, without you, this is not going to work. I've left it to you’. To see God work at your behest, in areas that you thought God was not involved...When you see God go to work in the government of India, in the corridors of power, in the politics and the competition and the economy, and you see God do things in arenas that you didn't know he was cool at, that's when faith arises. Why should you pray first? Because it's a habit that will take you anywhere and you'll be  constantly taking the victorious rule of God in the spirit realm into wherever you go, because the spirit realm is everywhere. And since those governments and those organizations and those businesses and money and influence and media are all under the control of the spirit realm, you better believe it , when you as a believer walk into that realm, I'm asking God, you need to see God at work in your school, in your life, in your walk, in places that you don't necessarily expect to see God rock it and absolutely make it happen. Rather than luck, rather than powers of persuasion that you have picked up over the years to be able to walk in a world, rather than pressure tactics that you can use to understand how this business works, how this industry works, or anything else you might use to get things to happen for you…When you trust God to influence people in your life, in your walk, in your way, when you trust God to influence decisions, when you trust God to influence directions in your favor, when you see God moving your career and moving your finances and moving things in your favor, that's when you begin to believe that praying first isn't just a lucky charm. It's not just a thing believers do because Jesus will feel better if you talk to Him first.

My friend, I want you to see God move in your favour because you need to be convinced that God is outside the church also, that God goes to the government. God goes to the media. God goes to business. God goes to education. God goes to the radicals. He is in control of everything. There is nothing that's happening that he does not know about. And if he's letting it happen, he has a purpose or he can change it as soon as you pray.

Number three, pray first. You will be sure of God's hold. Psalm 125:1: Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever.

My prayer for you is that you see God act on your behalf. I don't think you've seen enough to know how, for you, God is and how powerful God is.We worry and we panic and we start back-pedalling. We go into a situation, we don't believe God is for us. We don't wait on him to master it, to go ahead of us. And we start seeing things not moving. And then we come up with plan B, plan C, plan D, change this, contact this person, change. We don't realize that God wanted us to rest and let him handle it. Because if you hand it to me, I'll take care of it. But those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion who cannot be shaken. So, are you easily shaken? Make prayer first your gut response, and he will hold you.

Number four, pray first and you will sense his leading. 

Psalm 143:8—Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.

When I have been praying first in all things, God begins to speak more clearly than ever before. The Lord starts to give you clear word, clear directions, every morning and You start becoming clearer and surer about the steps you need to take. Pray first and you will sense God's leading. Because you're constantly bringing God into it. You're not just living in the flesh, handling it in the flesh, handling it in your own manipulative ways, handling it in your own strength, handling it on your own wisdom. You're not relying on that anymore. Now you're trusting him. Say, Lord, come into my work. Come into my relationships. Come into my conversations.Come into my decisions. Come into the processes that run my life. Come into my life. Come, take over.

Number five, pray first and you will know his care. 

In 2026, I want you to know that he cares. I want you to know the way he cares and how he cares. 

1 Peter 5:7—Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

These are the dangerous verses because we have become too familiar with them. To cast all your anxiety, you need to know your anxiety. To need to know your anxiety, you need to be humble enough to acknowledge the fact that you are anxious about it. Because most of us live in denial. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. So I ask you, is your whole dependence dependence on your salary, on your strength, on your savings, your whole dependence, all your plans, all your future hope and assurance, is it all based on your salary? Is your God not able to provide for you outside or beyond your salary? Is he tied down to your salary? Are you a daily wage worker or are you a son in the house? 

Listen very carefully to my words, I've thought through this, I wrote it with much prayer. We need to start going to God for needs within our income (that means you can afford it) before you start relying on needs that are outside your income. That's not gonna happen until you rely on needs within your income. But that doesn't make any sense. The problem is not what you don't have, it's what you do have. Your life's dependence, confidence, assurance and hope for the future is all tied into that one salary. You could lose your job like that. We could lose our economy like that. We could lose the value of the rupee like that. Nothing is sure about the world you live in. The only thing you have going for you is God the Father who says, Come unto me all you who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. If you need anything, come to me, I will take care of it. I am your shepherd, I am your exceedingly great reward. Look at the lilies of the field, look at the birds of the air. You see them worrying about anything, you come to me, I've got you covered. Before you even ask, before it even comes to your tongue, I already know it, I've already made arrangements for it. Come to me, I am your father, you are my child. I have made you my own. I will wipe the tears from your eyes.We need to start going to God for the needs within our income. 

See, the thing is , if my salary covers it, I don't pray about it. My rent is about 30%-50% of my income so I don't need to pray about it. I'll be fine. It’s only when you get to 99% and the money is spent and now you're left with 10 rupees, that's when the prayer kicks in. And that, my friends, is what I'm talking about. From your first 10th, your tithe, which you pray and you give to God, that's the time from which you begin to pray over every rupee that goes out and comes in. And God becomes your dependence rather than your salary. We need to start going to God for needs within our income before you can start relying on needs that are outside our income. You need to start experiencing the way God provides. He's the God who provides the ram in the bush. Abraham, take your son… and take his life. And as the knife came crashing down, he says, Stop! Now I know you love me. And then he heard the sound of a ram in the bush.

He's the God who provides food. Ravens were being blinket, providing meat. A whole nation, in the desert, and manna fell from heaven to provide for everybody, for 40 years. God is not stuck with your salary, only you are. He's the God of the self-expanding oil and the self-expanding flour for the widow. God is the God of the coin in the fish's mouth. When they were worried about how to pay the tax, He asked them to go fish. Do the job. God is the God of 12 baskets left over after feeding 5,000 men, not counting women and children. Twelve baskets of leftovers. We don't know what to do with the leftovers. He's the God who provides outside of the budget. Budget doesn't even have a place in heaven. It is not in God's vocabulary. Not just rams, not just ravens, not just manna, not just coins from a fish's mouth, but righteousness that I need to get into heaven. Even righteousness was provided outside of my righteousness. Romans 8, God gave me a righteousness outside of mine and credited to my account so that I can walk into heaven on the righteousness of Christ. 

So this world we live in, how many layers of realities, and living beings and agendas and power struggles. You're not just living in the physical realm. There are many, there's a whole lot you do not see, and God is above all of it.There are forces at work way beyond chance and probability. Pray first isn't a sentiment. It's not a lucky charm. It's not a feel good factor. It is relying on God's emissaries (the warring angels), God's power, God's intervention and God's shepherding care. That's what pray first is. Pray first means God has everything I need.Why am I worrying about this? Let's leave the salary and save it up for a rainy day. I'm going to God even for everything. 

Let me tell you a story. So whenever I go to visit my son, he automatically shuts down all spending. So as soon as I hit the ground, from the time I reach, I have to begin to swipe the card. Throughout the time, it is just a given. It is just understood that I have to pay. I never said this nor did I make any promise, I just land and then I have to start swiping. And he just assumes that all the time that I am with him, he doesn't have to spend any of his money… Imagine if you took that to your relationship with God. How often is God with you? All the time. What are you worried about? You look so silly worrying. The praying first will connect you to your net banking in heaven and get you an understanding of your resources that are with you. The world we live in has many layers and realities, and God is above them all. And there are forces at work beyond chance and probability. But when we pray first, begin to rely on God's emissaries, God's power, God's intervention, God's love. So we can live free of worry, live free of anxiety, live free of sickness, live free of failure. God wants you to live free. This is not a prosperity gospel. This is saying where God is, there is freedom.Where God is, there is liberty. Where God is, there is healing. Where God is, there is provision. He says, I am your shepherd. I will take care of you. 

My God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in Christ Jesus.

He says, I want you to have a victorious life. I want you to have an abundant life. If you began in the spirit, let us also walk in the spirit.

Would you do me a favor? Bow your head and complete this transaction with God. What are you going to tell God about this? What have you understood? Is there anything that you want to tell God, something you want to change, something you want to reconstruct in your way of dependence? 

Open our eyes that we may see the power provision that you have for us. Open our hearts to believe that when we trust you, you will act on our behalf. Give us an understanding that you are bigger than the government. You are bigger than the economy. You're bigger than the world systems. You're bigger than all of the demonic realm. You're greater and more powerful than any enemy or any weapon that's formed against you. And you are our Father in heaven. Change my life in 2026.